A Semester with OneNote
Jason Dorko
12.17.2005

What good would a Tablet PC be without any software applications that could take advantage of it?  Microsoft’s OneNote is one of these programs that greatly benefits from the use of a tablet.  What most people don’t know is that OneNote, which is a part of the Office line up, is not restricted to tablet users only.  In fact, I was fascinated with the OneNote application as soon as I heard about it.  I always liked to come home and type my notes and doing so in Microsoft Word just never really made sense. It required opening up each individual file to view them and formatting them just the way I liked was often difficult.  When OneNote was released it solved both of these problems for me.  I used OneNote for an entire semester on a desktop computer at home.  It provided an easy way for me to organize and keep track of my class notes.  However, when I purchased a Tablet PC my relationship with OneNote took on a whole new meaning.

 Trying to explain all the different ways to use OneNote would be an incredible task.  After all, several full length books have been written on the topic.  The point of this article is to introduce students to OneNote and have them become more aquatinted with using OneNote as a digital notebook.  I plan to outline some of the ways I took advantage of the program this semester.  Of course OneNote can be used as a stand alone application on a desktop computer, I did for an entire semester, but where it really excels is for recording, annotating and organizing lecture notes.   This is where having a tablet is really nice.

 Before I go any further I would like to mention that there are numerous resources out there on OneNote.  One of my favorites is Chris Pratley’s OneNote Blog.  To my knowledge he is a Microsoft employee and involved in Office applications with special focus on OneNote in particular.  Check his blog for tips on OneNote and also check out all the cool features expected in the Office 12 version of OneNote.  Also if you’re completely new to OneNote check out Microsoft’s OneNote for students Demo.  It is very well done and does a terrific job showing you quickly the many features of OneNote that make it such a valuable tool for students.  Microsoft even has a page dedicated to using OneNote on a Tablet PC.  Also if you have already purchased OneNote or are using a trial version there is a OneNote Tour that should load up the first time you use the program.  I suggest going through this tour to get a feel for what OneNote can really do for you!  If you’ve already loaded the program once you can find the tour by going to Help and then clicking on Microsoft Office OneNote Tour. 

 OneNote: My Digital Notebook

So how did I use OneNote this semester? To put it briefly, OneNote was my 3 ring binder, my color coded filing system, my complete set of folders, highlighters, pens and pencils.  I am an organizing freak! I like to use color coded pencils, folders, pens and highlighters to help separate classes, ideas, and things to do.  After a few years I had developed a system that worked for me so it was going to be very hard for me to try something new but I knew if put in some extra time I  covert my pile of folders and papers into a well organized digital collection of class notes and handouts. 

 Since I had already been using OneNote previously, organizing and setting up my folders and sections was a familiar task.  How exactly I setup my notebook will be the focus of a future article as it’s probably one of the most important steps in organizing OneNote.  If your classes and notes are not setup properly then you are going to probably be left in the same state of clutter and disorganization as you were with all those piles of paper.  Of course there is no single correct way to organize your classes and folders so finding which way works best for you is essential.  The purpose of OneNote and a Tablet PC is to make life easier, not harder. 

 

After the initial setup I was ready to start writing away. I had a little time to play with the ink and drawing tools before class but didn’t really have a chance to become all that familiar with these new options; despite this I had class and I wanted to use my tablet right away so I simply packed up my tablet and headed off.  When I got to class I opened up a new page. Switched to college rule lines and prepared to write. My first gripe was the spacing between the lines; it was much too wide for my taste. I would solve this problem later by downloading a new stationary online. I then started the audio recording but switching through the options I saw that I could record at many different quality levels. Instead of paying attention to the professor I sat there and wondered which setting would be right for me. This brings me to my first important lesson. Leave the playing and configuring for home. Also make sure you have your notebook setup properly before you try to take notes in class. Class is not the time for this and I ran into a lot of problems my first couple days while trying to use a digital notebook that I just was not ready to use.

  My suggestion is to learn OneNote ahead of time or have someone show you. A lot of headaches and frustration could have been prevented if I had someone to show me what I was doing wrong. I guess this was the first reason I started this website and now offer a service to help students.   One of the best ways I assist students in deciding if a tablet pc is for them is I hand over my tablet pc and have them watch an interesting TV show and tell them to take notes on it.  This way they are not worried on the material as much as transferring the ideas to the tablet.  Also if they get frustrated with the tablet or program they are using they can ask me as I sit beside them.  Getting all these little bugs out of the system before the real show (taking notes in class) is a real test to see if you are comfortable with the tablet and note taking program.

  As the semester went on I soon became very familiar with my tablet and OneNote in particular.  I soon was no longer carrying my multicolored filing folders to class and no longer worrying if I had all my highlighters in my book bag.  I had recorded lectures with a voice recorder over the years as I often found that listening to key parts of the lecture was helpful in reinforcing some important concepts.  (Always ask permission from the professor before you start recording your class) One of the problems with this is that I had to sync the audio with my computer every night, organize and name the files and put it into folders. I also had to always make sure I had extra batteries for the recorder in case they ran out during class.  These were minor issues in the real scheme of things but none the less eliminating them by using OneNote’s recording feature was probably my favorite thing about OneNote.  It’s actually the one thing that prevented me from trying GoBinder, another note taking program. Click on image for larger view Even more beneficial was that the recordings were synced with my ink notes. If there was a particular part of the lecture that I missed or did not understand I could surf my notes and find that area and then click on the audio section and the audio would be in the approximate time frame the notes were taken.  The notes and audio were also slightly off but it was still much easier to find key audio sections than my previous method with the stand alone voice recorder.  Eliminating the voice recorder from my school arsenal was another pleasure.

 As I have mentioned my tablet allowed me to leave behind the loose leaf paper, pencils, pens, highlighters, and voice recorder.  Although I never really considered it all that much inconvenience, I must say that having to only worry about bringing my tablet, pencil for handouts and my text book was much more pleasant than having to worry about carrying all those other accessories to and from class everyday.  I even plan to eliminate the need to bring textbooks to class this upcoming semester when I buy ebook versions of almost all my text books.  Ebooks and their concept is a very interesting idea and again is another one of those topics that deserves its own article.

 The best part of using my tablet as my digital notebook this semester was a concept that I really never considered before.  A student’s life and day are busy and often full of activities.  For some of us every moment counts and managing our time is a countless battle.  Throughout the semester I found myself at times waiting, either for class to start, in traffic, or waiting to see a doctor.  I started to bring my tablet with me to all these spots and if I had a moment I would open it up and review my notes.  I never would want to bring my entire book bag to a doctor’s office and trying to scroll through my notes on the go was an impossible task.  However I could do this with my tablet.

 I also discovered the benefit of easily making connections between classes.  Topics in one class would often coordinate with another.  I would be studying anatomy and realized that a very similar issue had been covered in my histology class a few days ago.  I would then just click the histology section and maybe use the search function to find that particular topic, and I could often make a connection between classes.  Everybody learns differently but for me if I can coordinate my studies with one another and relate topics to each other while comparing class notes with ease I find my studying to be much more effective. Knowledge and a better grasp of the program I feel will allow me to streamline and improve my future studying habits.  I believe this to be the most invaluable resource and benefit of having a digital notebook.  It was like carrying 4 notebooks, 5 folders, and hundreds of pages of handouts all in a 3.2 lb small black tablet pc that could go everywhere I went. 

 OneNote is a wonderful tool and it’s full of opportunity.  I even plan to read up on the topic and hopefully write about specific topics involved with using OneNote for students.  I look ever more forward to the new version of OneNote that is being developed now.  It seems to have a lot of new features and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. 

 Since much of my frustration was due to the inability to find the right resources hopefully I can be of help to you and provide you many links that I have discovered so you don’t have to search for them yourself.  Also if you live near or around me or Oakland University I am always willing to offer my services and help to you. Also if you have any problems with OneNote or would like me to concentrate on a particular topics involving the use of OneNote feel free to email me.